This Week: Religion, Birth Control, Sexuality & more

TimWise.org: “But suggest that racism and discrimination are also significant problems in more ‘progressive spaces,’ even among self-proclaimed liberals and leftists themselves — and that it might be unearthed in our political movements — and prepare to be met with icy stares, or worse, a self-righteous vitriol that seeks to separate ‘real racism’ (the right-wing kind) from not-so-real racism (the kind we on the left sometimes foster).”

Slate: “Proponents are heralding the approval of ella, which is already available in Europe, as a welcome expansion of women’s reproductive options. Known as ulipristal acetate, it’s chemically similar to the abortion drug RU-486 but will be dispensed in much smaller doses and labeled as an emergency contraceptive. Critics, however, warn that it’s a potentially dangerous drug that was inadequately studied. It also reignites the debate about what defines contraception and abortion.”

Change.org: “We’ve already learned from the mainstream media that black women are too educated, too successful and too independent to be marriageable. Now, it seems, we can add “too religious” to our list of supposed sins.”

BBC: “Aids campaigners have been critical of the authorities’ handling of Ms Benaissa’s case, and warned against a rush to criminalise the transmission of HIV, the BBC’s Tristana Moore reports from Berlin. Edwin Bernard, a writer and advocate specialising in HIV prosecutions, believes that prosecutions and laws on HIV transmission may do more harm than good in terms of reducing the spread of infections.”

Los Angeles Times: “The ability to chemically steer a child’s sexual orientation has become increasingly possible in recent years, with evidence building that homosexuality has biological roots and with advances in the treatment of babies in utero. Prenatal treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia is the first to test — unintentionally or not — that potential.”

Washington Post: “Zhou, 44, said most of her patients are sexually active young women who are about to marry and have told their future husbands they are virgins. She said a smaller number want to forget a bad relationship and “start over,” and a few have been victims of rape.”